Reliving Tartarus
by twinoffanfiction101
Summary: What happens when the fates drop off 9 demigods, 1 satyr and 1 book to Olympus. That book is the house of hades (just tartarus stuff). Will Athena finally except Percy? What will Percabeths friends think?
1. Delivery to Olympus

**Hello, I've got nothing to say so let's do this.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any characters and/or the Percy Jackson and heroes of Olympus series.**

Olympus has always been a loud place but the council meetings are the loudest event, especially this one. The gods were yelling. For example; Apollo and Artemis were arguing about which one was older, Hera and Zeus were fighting over Zeus having affairs and Dionysus sleeping in a corner like the loner he was. A strange flash of light came from the centre of the throne room and all the gods finally shut up and 9 demigods and one satyr appeared.

"WHAT IS THIS?!" Zeus boomed.

"Y-you didn't bring us here?" The one with brown braids stuttered.

"Of course not child." Artemis stated, a bit calmer than Zeus may I add.

"Well introduce yourselves then." Hades said impatiently.

"Grover Underwood, satyr."

"Nico di Angelo, son of Hades."

"Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus, lieutenant of Artemis." Artemis slightly nodded at the sight of her lieutenant.

"Piper McClean, daughter of Aphrodite" Aphrodite smiled brightly at her daughter.

"Jason grace, son of Jupiter." Zeus flicked to his roman side but quickly changed back.

"Leo, smoking hot Valdez, son of Hephaestus."

"Hazel Lévesque, daughter of Pluto."

"Frank Zhang, son of Mars."

"Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena." Athena looked down at her daughter smiling but realized how her eyes which were usually silver and sparkling were now a dull grey.

"Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon." Poseidon looked at his son's blank green eyes and was about to ask what's wrong but he decided not to push whatever was making him look like that.

There was some awkward silence after that before Annabeth spoke up.

"So, why are we here?"

"U I don't- AHH!" Hermes started but then got interrupted when a book hit him in the head.

"Oh you big baby." Demeter exclaimed while picking up the book and returning to her throne.

"It hurt- AHH!" Hermes cried.

Another thing landed on Hermes head but this time it was a letter.

"You are truly pathetic Hermes." Hades said while picking up the letter.

Hades read it;

 _Dear mortals and immortals,_ _Most of you have been wondering what happened on the latest quest and this book is going to tell you what two heroes of Olympus went through for you gods so be thankful._ _Sincerely, the fates._

It was dead silent.

"W-what two d-demigods?" Annabeth stuttered.

The gods didn't know what happened to Percy and Annabeth, they didn't know about the nightmares or the screaming but now they were about to find out, even Thalia and Grover didn't know about Tartarus, the seven and Nico didn't tell anyone (besides Chiron) that Annabeth and Percy had been down there.

"It doesn't say." Hades turned the letter back to front.

"Well let's see." Demeter started.

She took a look at the book and said four words that set off the 7 and Nico.

"The house of hades." All hell set loose.

 **I hope you liked it.**

 **Adios blue cookie eaters.**


	2. Off With Demeter's Head

**Hello, I've got nothing to say so let's do this .**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any characters and/or the Percy Jackson and heroes of Olympus series.**

 _Last time:_

 _She took a look at the book and said 4 words that set off the 7 and Nico._

"The _house of hades." Then all hell set loose._

 _ **3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **POV**_

No one was prepared for what happened next. Piper grabbed her dagger and threw it at the book, Jason looked ready to strike it with lightning when Percy said to, Frank- well Frank turned into a chipmunk and started running around the room and Hazel held onto her brother as if her life depended on it. Nico was just starring at the book but as he starred at it the air grew thicker, darker and colder. Leo went up in flames and was ready to throw a fireball at it. Percy was starting to cry and Annabeth was balling her eyes out muttering things in Percy's ear. All the gods were alert and eyes wide at the scene in front of them. Thalia and Grover also watched wide eyed wondering what on Olympus was happening. Percy finally stopped crying, Percy and Annabeth were now hugging on the floor.

Let me tell you that the throne room looked like Leo's workshop, but 10 times worse.

"What just happened?" Grover said slowly.

"All I said was- "Demeter started.

"Don't." Leo warned in a firm voice which surprised everyone.

There was another bright light and Hestia appeared. She made 3 couches appear and a coffee table with 10 hot chocolates and a plate of blue cookies. Nico, Hazel, Frank and Leo went to the first couch, Jason, Piper, Thalia and Grover went to the next couch and Percy and Annabeth went to the last couch. When Percy and Annabeth sat down a blanket appeared on them. Hades being the god he is asked;

"Hang on, how come they get their own couch and blanket?"

"Father." Hazel snapped.

Hades decided to shut up because Hazel never snapped- ever.

"I just spoke to the fates and they say that no one can get out of this throne room until someone reads the full book. I'm sorry demigods." Hestia stated.

"Well get on with it then." Percy sighed scared for what's about to come.

"I'm not reading, my head almost got chopped off." Demeter said stubbornly.

"Well sorry." Piper said with sass.

"I will read." Artemis requested, curious to what's happening.

 **ANNABETH**

 **9 days. As she fell, Annabeth thought about Hesiod, the old Greek poet who speculated it would take nine days to fall from earth to Tartarus.**

"Where are you at this time Annabeth?" Grover asked cautiously.

"Read." Annabeth demanded and she wasn't going to take no for an answer.

 **She hoped Hesiod was wrong. She'd lost track-**

Artemis' voice got caught in her throat.

 **Of how long she and Percy had been falling- hours? A day? It felt like an eternity.**

Everyone was staring at the couple in disbelief.

 **They'd been holding hands ever since they'd dropped into the chasm. Now Percy pulled her close, hugging her tight as they tumbled through absolute darkness.**

"WHAT?!" The gods, Thalia and Grover shouted at them.

 **Wind whistled in Annabeth's ears. The air grew hotter and damper, as if they were plummeting into the throat of a massive dragon. Her recently broken ankle throbbed, though she couldn't tell if it was still wrapped in spider webs.**

"And you broke your ankle, I have found respect for you." Ares said astonished.

 **That cursed monster Arachne. Despite having been trapped in her own webbing, smashed by a car and plunged into Tartarus, the spider lady had got her revenge. Somehow her silk had entangled Annabeth's leg and dragged her over the side of the pit, with Percy in tow.**

"You really do love her, don't you." Athena said sighing.

"With all my heart." He said kissing the top of Annabeth's head, she smiled slightly.

 **Annabeth couldn't imagine that Arachne was still alive, somewhere below them in darkness. She didn't want to meet that monster again when they reached the bottom. On the bright side assuming there** ** _was_** **a bottom,**

"That was the bright side?!" Thalia yelled sounding frustrated.

 **Annabeth and Percy would properly be flattened on impact; so giant spiders were the least of their worries. She wrapped her arms around Percy and tried not to sob. She'd never expected her life to be easy. Most demigods died young at the hands of terrible monsters. That was the way it had been since ancient times. The Greeks invented tragedy.**

"It's so true it's funny." Frank stated, chuckling.

"Yeah." Percy agreed.

 **They knew the greatest heroes didn't t get their happy endings. Still, this wasn't** ** _fair._** **Shed gone through so much to retrieve that statue of Athena. just when shed succeeded and reunited with Percy, the had plunged to their deaths. Even the gods couldn't devise a fate so twisted.**

"We could if we tried." Dionysus grinned mischievously.

 **But Gaia wasn't like other gods. The earth mother was older, more vicious, more bloodthirsty. Annabeth could imagine her laughing as they fell into the depths. Annabeth pressed her ears to Percy's ear. 'I love you'.**

"Aww" Aphrodite and Piper cooed.

Piper blushed and Leo said; "And I suppose you want mascara too beauty queen?"

"Could someone please slap him?" Piper asked annoyed.

"Gladly." Hazel offered and did. Leo decided to quiet for the moment.

 **She wasn't sure he could hear her- but if they were going to die she wanted those to be her last words.**

"OMG!" Aphrodite squealed.

 **She tried directly to think of a plan. She was a daughter of Athena.**

"And I couldn't ask for a better one." Athena smiled sweetly at her daughter.

 **Shed proven herself in the tunnels under Rome, beaten a whole series of challenges using only her wits. But she couldn't think of any way to reverse or even slow their fall. Neither of them had the power to fly- not like Jason who could control the wind, or frank, who could turn into a winged animal.**

 **If they reached the bottom at terminal velocity…well, she knew enough science it would be terminal.**

"I love puns but this is not the time!" Grover shouted.

 **She was seriously wondering if they could fashion a parachute out of their shirts- that's how desperate she was- when something about their surroundings change. The darkness took on a grey-red tinge. She realized she could see Percy's hair as she hugged him. The whistling in her ears turned into a roar. The air came hot, having a smell like rotten eggs.**

"Ewww." Hazel cringed.

 **Suddenly, the chute they'd been falling into opened into a vast cabin. Maybe half a mile below them, Annabeth could see the bottom. For a moment she was to stunned to think probably. The stench of sulphur made it hard to concentrate, but she focused on the ground directly below them and saw a ribbon of black liquid- a river.**

"Don't make him do that." Poseidon whispered nervously.

" **Percy." she yelled in his ear" water"**

"Even I can't control underworld waters." Poseidon said.

"It was our only hope." Percy and Annabeth said at the same time then blushed snuggling closer.

 **Percy's face was hard to read in the dim red light. He looked shell-shocked and terrified but nodded as if he understood. Percy could control water- assuming that was water below them. He might be able to cushion their fall somehow. Of course Annabeth had heard terrible stories about rivers of the underworld. They could take away your memories or burn your body and soul to ashes.**

"They were used for torturing in ancient Greece." Hades smirked while others just stared at him terrified.

 **But she decided not to think about that. This was their only chance.**

"It really was." Annabeth confessed.

 **The river hurtled towards them. At the last second, Percy yelled daintily. The water erupted in a massive geyser and swallowed them whole.**

 **That's it for the moment, I hope you all enjoyed.**

 **Bye bye blue cookie eaters.**


	3. I Love Sarcasm

**Hi guys, I'm sorry I haven't updated but I've been working on my other stories. I'm only going to do snippets of the book.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I'm positive that I'm a student in year 7 and not a grown man.**

 _Last time_

 _ **The water erupted in a massive geyser that swallowed them whole.**_

 **3** **rd** **POV**

The room was suddenly so silent you could hear a pin drop. All the gods were on the edge of their seats (thrones) while all the demigods (besides Percabeth) and Grover looked at the couple in pity. Athena had her hand over her mouth while Poseidon was trying and failing to blink back tears. Percy and Annabeth were cuddled up, heavily breathing with their eyes closed trying to push away all the flashbacks that were trying to get in their heads.

"W-why didn't you t-tell us?" Thalia whispered, stuttering.

"Because it still hurts. We can still feel the air and the shadows of that.. place when we say or do certain things and we didn't want to relive it multiple times by telling the story." Percy sighed, grabbing a blue cookie from the coffee table in front of them while passing Annabeth a hot chocolate.

"Who wants to read next?" Artemis trembled.

"I will." Hephaestus volunteered, Artemis handed him the book. Hephaestus cleared his throat and was about to read until there was a flash on the other side of the room, now standing there was sally, Reyna and Clarisse.

"Is this Olympus?" Sally asked astonished. "I thought it would be bigger." She honestly shrugged.

"No mum, this is just the throne room." Percy chuckled.

"Percy?!" She ran to her son and hugged him.

"Hi mum." Percy smiled.

"I missed you." She squeezed him.

Zeus cleared his throat and Sally turned around wide-eyed and bowed, so did Reyna and Clarisse.

"Hestia, couch." Zeus ordered.

"Yes, I know" Hestia huffed, there was now a couch next to Annabeth and Percy's.

"So not to be rude your majesties but, what are we doing here?" Clarisse asked sitting down.

"We are reading about Percy and Annabeth's…. journey." Hestia stumbled unsure of how to word it.

"Which journey?" Reyna asked curiously.

"Could someone just read." Annabeth demanded.

"You'll understand what we're trying to say when we read more." Artemis said to Reyna, Sally and Clarisse.

"Okay let's do this." Hephaestus started.

 **ANNABETH**

 **The impact didn't kill her,**

Everyone (besides Reyna, Sally and Clarisse) let out a breath they didn't know they were holding.

 **but the cold nearly did.**

Most people shivered and gulped.

 **She began to sink. Strange wailing sounds filled her ears- millions of heartbroken voices. The voices were worse than the cold, they weighted her down and made her feel numb.**

 _ **What's the point of struggling?**_ **They told her.** _ **You're dead anyway. You'll never leave this place.**_ **She could sink to the bottom and drown, let the river carry her body away. That would be easier. She could just close her eyes….**

Annabeth looked down, ashamed of what she was thinking. Percy grabbed her hand, rubbing soothing circles with his thumb on her hand.

 **Percy gripped her hand and jolted her back into reality. She couldn't see him in the murky water, but suddenly she didn't want to die.**

Aphrodite was trying really hard not to burst into a fit of giggles.

 **Together they kicked upward and broke the surface. Annabeth gasped, grateful for the air, no matter how sulphurous. The water swirled around them, and she realised Percy was creating a whirlpool to buoy them up.**

"But how….?" Poseidon muttered.

 **Though she couldn't make out their surroundings, she knew this was a river. Rivers had shores.**

"Nooooo, we didn't realise." Dionysus sarcastically rolled his eyes, everyone looked at him scowling. "What?" He tried to look innocent.

 **Okay I really need a chapter out so I'm gonna end it there, again I am so very sorry for the nearly 6 month wait but I have been working very hard on my other stories.**

 **Bye bye blue cookie eaters.**


	4. Sarcastic yays

**I know. I'm sorry. Very sorry. You guys probably aren't reading this.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own PJO and/or HOO.**

Everyone rolled their eyes at Dionysus.

"Anyway, someone read." Thalia said impatiently.

"Okay, okay." Hephaestus started reading again.

' **Land,' she croaked. 'Go sideways.' Percy looked near dead with exhaustion. Usually water reinvigorated** **him, but not** _ **this**_ **water. Controlling it must have taken every bit of his strength.**

"I imagine it would." Poseidon said deep in though.

 **The whirlpool began to dissipate. Annabeth hooked one arm around his waist and struggled across the current. The river worked against her: thousands of weeping voices whispering in her ears, getting inside her brain.**

Everyone looked at Annabeth in pity to which she buried her face in the crook of Percy's neck.

 _ **Life is despair**_ **, they said.** _ **Everything is pointless, and then you die.**_

" **Pointless" Percy murmured. His teeth chattering from the cold. He stopped swimming and began to sink.**

A tear ran down Percy's cheek.

" **Percy!" she shrieked. "The river is messing with your mind. It's the Cocytus- the river of lamentation. It's made of pure misery.**

" **Misery" he agreed.**

" **Fight it!"**

"It is very difficult to fight the Cocytus." Hades pointed out. "Almost impossible to not drown"

"Not. Helping." Athena glared at him and spoke through gritted teeth.

 **She kicked and struggled, trying to keep both of them afloat. Another cosmic joke for Gaea to laugh at: Annabeth dies trying to keep her boyfriend, the son of Poseidon, from drowning.**

"How ironic." Ares didn't really care with what was happening.

 **Not going to happen, you hag, Annabeth thought.**

"BOOM!" Leo grinned. Everyone stared blankly at him. "Not the right time? Okay."

 **She hugged Percy tighter and kissed him. "Tell me about New Rome," she demanded. "What were your plans for us?"**

"Wait what?" Athena and Poseidon said coordinated. Everyone ignored them.

" **New Rome…For us…"**

" **Yes, Seaweed Brain. You said we could have a future there! Tell me!"**

"When? -wha" Athena and Poseidon were both speechless- not knowing what to say.

"Awwwww." Aphrodite. "They're so cute together!"

Artemis was getting extremely annoyed at Aphrodite.

 **Annabeth had never wanted to leave Camp Half-Blood. It was the only real home she'd ever known. But days ago, on the Argo II, Percy had told her that he imagined a future for the two of them among the Roman demigods. In their city of New Rome, veterans of the legion could settle down safely, go to college, get married, even have kids.**

"What is happening?!" Poseidon looked around clueless.

"IM PLANING THE WEDDING!" Piper demanded.

" **Architecture," Percy murmured. The fog started to clear from his eyes. "Thought you'd like the houses, the parks. There's one street with all these cool fountains."**

"Awwwwww!" All the girls cooed.

Piper then said. "Why can't you be thoughtful like that Jason?"

"Because Percy is always the boyfriend of the year!" Jason turned to look at Percy. "Could you tone it down?"

Percy dramatically stood up on the couch and yelled; "NEVER!"

 **Annabeth started making progress against the current. Her limbs felt like bags of wet sand, but Percy was helping her now. She could see the dark line of the shore about a stone's throw away.**

" **College," she gasped. "Could we go there together?"**

" **Y-yeah," he agreed, a little more confidently.**

" **What would you study, Percy?"**

" **Dunno," he admitted.**

" **Marine science," she suggested. "Oceanography?"**

" **Surfing?" he asked.**

Everyone laughed. Thalia chuckled while saying. "Only Percy." Percy blushed.

 **She laughed, and the sound sent a shock wave through the water. The wailing faded to background noise. Annabeth wondered if anyone had ever laughed in Tartarus before—just a pure, simple laugh of pleasure. She doubted it.**

"Nope." Hades said popping the p.

 **She used the last of her strength to reach the riverbank. Her feet dug into the sandy bottom. She and Percy hauled themselves ashore, shivering and gasping, and collapsed on the dark sand.**

 **Annabeth wanted to curl up next to Percy and go to sleep. She wanted to shut her eyes, hope all of this was just a bad dream, and wake up to find herself back on the Argo II, safe with her friends (well…as safe as a demigod can ever be).**

"True." All the demigods agreed.

 **But, no. They were really in Tartarus.**

Sally inhaled.

 **At their feet, the River Cocytus roared past, a flood of liquid wretchedness. The sulphurous air stung Annabeth's lungs and prickled her skin. When she looked at her arms, she saw they were already covered with an angry rash. She tried to sit up and gasped in pain.**

 **The beach wasn't sand. They were sitting on a field of jagged black-glass chips, some of which were now embedded in Annabeth's palms.**

 **So, the air was acid. The water was misery. The ground was broken glass. Everything here was designed to hurt and kill.**

"Pretty much." Hades nodded.

 **Annabeth took a rattling breath and wondered if the voices in the Cocytus were right. Maybe fighting for survival was pointless. They would be dead within the hour.**

 **Next to her, Percy coughed. "This place smells like my ex-stepfather."**

"It's true." Percy told his mum.

Sally rolled eyes.

No one realised that Poseidon's fist hardened though.

 **Annabeth managed a weak smile. She'd never met Smelly Gabe, but she'd heard enough stories. She loved Percy for trying to lift her spirits.**

 **If she'd fallen into Tartarus by herself, Annabeth thought, she would have been doomed. After all she'd been through beneath Rome, finding the Athena Parthenos, this was simply too much. She would've curled up and cried until she became another ghost, melting into the Cocytus.**

 **But she wasn't alone. She had Percy. And that meant she couldn't give up.**

Aphrodite was about to awn again but Artemis pulled out her bow.

"I dare you too."

Aphrodite aggressively huffed.

 **She forced herself to take stock. Her foot was still wrapped in its makeshift cast of board and Bubble Wrap, still tangled in cobwebs. But when she moved it, it didn't hurt. The ambrosia she'd eaten in the tunnels under Rome must have finally mended her bones.**

 **Her backpack was gone—lost during the fall, or maybe washed away in the river. She hated losing Daedalus' laptop, with all its fantastic programs and data, but she had worse problems. Her Celestial bronze dagger was missing—the weapon she'd carried since she was seven years old.**

Hermes looked down at his hands as well as Thalia, Grover, and Annabeth.

 **The realization almost broke her, but she couldn't let herself dwell on it. Time to grieve later. What else did they have?**

 **No food, no water…basically no supplies at all.**

 **Yep. Off to a promising start.**

"Sarcasm." Leo pointed out.

 **Annabeth glanced at Percy. He looked pretty bad.**

"Well!" Percy dramatically put his hand to his chest.

Annabeth giggled. "Oops."

 **His dark hair was plastered across his forehead, his T-shirt ripped to shreds. His fingers were scraped raw from holding on to that ledge before they fell. Most worrisome of all, he was shivering and his lips were blue.**

"Isn't hell hot?" Leo questioned.

"No, I thought it was cold." Hermes said.

"Yeah!" Demeter agreed with Hermes.

And the argument began. Percy, Annabeth and Nico looked at them like they were idiots.

" **We should keep moving or we'll get hypothermia," Annabeth said. "Can you stand?"**

 **He nodded. They both struggled to their feet.**

 **Annabeth put her arm around his waist, though she wasn't sure who was supporting whom. She scanned their surroundings. Above, she saw no sign of the tunnel they'd fallen through. She couldn't even see the cavern roof—just blood-coloured clouds floating in the hazy grey air. It was like staring through a thin mix of tomato soup and cement.**

 **The black-glass beach stretched inland about fifty yards, then dropped off the edge of a cliff. From where she stood, Annabeth couldn't see what was below, but the edge flickered with red light as if illuminated by huge fires.**

"Yay." Grover laced his voice with sarcasm.

"The sarcasm is real tonight." Leo said thoughtfully.

 **A distant memory tugged at her—something about Tartarus and fire. Before she could think too much about it, Percy inhaled sharply.**

" **Look." He pointed downstream.**

 **A hundred feet away, a familiar-looking baby-blue Italian car had crashed headfirst into the sand. It looked just like the Fiat that had smashed into Arachne and sent her plummeting into the pit.**

"Oh no." Jason and Frank said.

 **Annabeth hoped she was wrong, but how many Italian sports cars could there be in Tartarus? Part of her didn't want to go anywhere near it, but she had to find out. She gripped Percy's hand, and they stumbled toward the wreckage. One of the car's tires had come off and was floating in a backwater eddy of the Cocytus. The Fiat's windows had shattered, sending brighter glass like frosting across the dark beach. Under the crushed hood lay the tattered, glistening remains of a giant silk cocoon—the trap that Annabeth had tricked Arachne into weaving. It was unmistakably empty. Slash marks in the sand made a trail downriver…as if something heavy, with multiple legs, had scuttled into the darkness.**

They all waited a second "Can you really not sarcastically yay at this part. Anyone?" Leo reasoned.

"Yaaaaay."

"Thought so."

" **She's alive." Annabeth was so horrified, so outraged by the unfairness of it all, she had to suppress the urge to throw up.**

" **It's Tartarus," Percy said. "Monster home court. Down here, maybe they can't be killed."**

"This story is fun." Poseidon commented.

"THE SARCASM, AGAIN?!"

 **He gave Annabeth an embarrassed look, as if realizing he wasn't helping team morale. "Or maybe she's badly wounded, and she crawled away to die."**

" **Let's go with that," Annabeth agreed.**

 **Percy was still shivering. Annabeth wasn't feeling any warmer either, despite the hot, sticky air. The glass cuts on her hands were still bleeding, which was unusual for her. Normally, she healed fast. Her breathing got more and more labored.**

" **This place is killing us," she said. "I mean, it's literally going to kill us, unless…"**

 **Tartarus. Fire. That distant memory came into focus. She gazed inland toward the cliff, illuminated by flames from below.**

"No, just no. That's impossible." Poseidon shook his head.

"That's what you said about the controlling of Tartarus waters." Hera pointed out.

 **It was an absolutely crazy idea. But it might be their only chance.**

" **Unless what?" Percy prompted. "You've got a brilliant plan, haven't you?"**

" **It's a plan," Annabeth murmured. "I don't know about brilliant. We need to find the River of Fire."**

 **WHEN THEY REACHED THE LEDGE, Annabeth was sure she'd signed their death warrants.**

 **The cliff dropped more than eighty feet. At the bottom stretched a nightmarish version of the Grand Canyon: a river of fire cutting a path through a jagged obsidian crevasse, the glowing red current casting horrible shadows across the cliff faces.**

 **Even from the top of the canyon, the heat was intense. The chill of the River Cocytus hadn't left Annabeth's bones, but now her face felt raw and sunburned. Every breath took more effort, as if her chest was filled with Styrofoam peanuts. The cuts on her hands bled more rather than less. Annabeth's foot, which had been almost healed, seemed to be reinjuring itself. She'd taken off her makeshift cast, but now she regretted it. Each step made her wince.**

"Awwwwww." Sally awed sympathetically and went over to Annabeth to hold her hand like a caring mother. Annabeth was grateful for it.

 **Assuming they could make it down to the fiery river, which she doubted, her plan seemed certifiably insane.**

"EXACTLY!"

" **Uh…" Percy examined the cliff. He pointed to a tiny fissure running diagonally from the edge to the bottom. "We can try that ledge there. Might be able to climb down."**

 **He didn't say they'd be crazy to try. He managed to sound hopeful. Annabeth was grateful for that, but she also worried that she was leading him to his doom.**

"It's okay, I'll be all right." Percy smiled his goofy smile.

 **Of course, if they stayed here, they would die anyway. Blisters had started to form.**

"Who would've thought."

 **That's it for today. Its pretty good though. 2053 words. Sorry for the wait.**

 **Bye bye blue cookie eaters.**


	5. Goddamit Leo

**Hahaha…. please don't murder me. IM SORRY! I just have had a rough few months. Anyways I love you guys.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own PJO and/or HOO.**

 **Annabeth's POV**

"Ya know what I feel like?" Percy asked everyone.

"What?" I smiled.

"Some caramel popcorn."

"Ewww." Leo commented, making a disgusted face.

"ARE YOU HATING ON CARAMEL POPCORN?"

"Okay calm down Percy." I put my hand on his shoulder.

He pouted and crossed his arms. "Keep reading." He grumbled.

 **Percy went first. The ledge was barely wide enough to allow a toehold. Their hands clawed for any crack in the glassy rock. Every time Annabeth put pressure on her bad foot, she wanted to yelp. She'd ripped off the sleeves of her T-shirt and used the cloth to wrap her palms, but her fingers were still slippery and weak.**

 **A few steps below her, Percy grunted as he reached for another handhold. "So…what is this fire river called?"**

 **"The Phlegethon," she said. "You should concentrate on going down."**

 **"The Phlegethon?" He shinnied along the ledge. They'd made it roughly a third of the way down the cliff—still high enough up to die if they fell. "Sounds like a marathon for hawking spit balls."**

Leo jumped up from his couch. "I've been in one of those before!"

"Oh my god!" Piper, Hazel, and Calypso screamed.

Jason sighed. "Honestly Leo."

"Yep!" Leo grinned.  
 **  
"Please don't make me laugh," she said.**

 **"Just trying to keep things light."**

 **"Thanks," she grunted, nearly missing the ledge with her bad foot. "I'll have a smile on my face as I plummet to my death."**

"Positive thought's, right?"  
 **  
They kept going, one step at a time. Annabeth's eyes stung with sweat. Her arms trembled. But to her amazement, they finally made it to the bottom of the cliff.**

 **When she reached the ground, she stumbled. Percy caught her.**

"Aww." Cooed Aphrodite.

 **She was alarmed by how feverish his skin felt. Red boils had erupted on his face, so he looked like a smallpox victim.**

"Oh. Ewww." Aphrodite cringed. Artemis burst out laughing.

"OKAY. In all due respect, my ladies- I was in hell!"

"Excuses!"

 **Her own vision was blurry. Her throat felt blistered, and her stomach was clenched tighter than a fist.**

Sally looked at me in worry, I gave her a reassuring smile. Athena noticed the gesture and frowned.

 **I promise I will update really soon, sometime this week. Sorry for the super late chapter, love you guys.**

 **Bye blue cookie eaters.**


	6. It's Alright

**Hallo! I did tell you that I'd be posting better. Plus the last chapter was short so anyway here ya go. Enjoy.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own PJO and/or HOO.**

 _Last time_

 ** _Her throat felt blistered, and her stomach was clenched tighter than a fist._**

 _Sally looked at me in worry, I gave her a reassuring smile. Athena noticed the gesture and frowned._

 **Athena's POV**

Why was Annabeth getting so close to this mortal? I mean I'm her mother.

"Okay, I'm done with reading." Hephaestus said.

"I'll read." Hades put his hand out and the book appeared in his hands.

 **We have to hurry, she thought.**

 **"Just to the river," she told Percy, trying to keep the panic out of her voice. "We can do this."  
**

"Don't worry wise girl, we'll get there." Percy kissed Annabeth's head.

 **They staggered over slick glass ledges, around massive boulders, avoiding stalagmites that would've impaled them with any slip of the foot. Their tattered clothes steamed from the heat of the river, but they kept going until they crumpled to their knees at the banks of the Phlegethon.**

"My poor baby." Sally hugged Percy.

"Muuuuuuuuuum." Percy whined but still hugged back. Everyone chuckled.  
 **  
"We have to drink," Annabeth said.**

 **Percy swayed, his eyes half-closed. It took him a three-count to respond. "Uh…drink fire?"**

 **"The Phlegethon flows from Hades's realm down into Tartarus." Annabeth could barely talk. Her throat was closing up from the heat and the acidic air. "The river is used to punish the wicked. But also…some legends call it the River of Healing."**

"You greeks are very interesting." Reyna said. "Ah yes, a river of fire that when you drink it heals you."

"Seems legit right?" Hades said. ****

 **"Some legends?"**

 **Annabeth swallowed, trying to stay conscious. "The Phlegethon keeps the wicked in one piece so that they can endure the torments of the Fields of Punishment. I think…it might be the Underworld equivalent of ambrosia and nectar."**

 **Percy winced as cinders sprayed from the river, curling around his face. "But it's fire. How can we—"**

 **"Like this." Annabeth thrust her hands into the river.**

 **Stupid?**

"Yep!" Thalia agreed.

 **Yes, but she was convinced they had no choice. If they waited any longer, they would pass out and die. Better to try something foolish and hope it worked.**

"Well that's a Percy move." Sally chuckled.

"Muuuum, your supposed to be on my side." Percy pouted.

"In your dreams seaweed brain."

 **On first contact, the fire wasn't painful. It felt cold, which probably meant it was so hot it was overloading Annabeth's nerves. Before she could change her mind, she cupped the fiery liquid in her palms and raised it to her mouth.**

 **She expected a taste like gasoline. It was so much worse. Once, at a restaurant back in San Francisco, she'd made the mistake of tasting a ghost chili pepper that came with a plate of Indian food. After barely nibbling it, she thought her respiratory system was going to implode. Drinking from the Phlegethon was like gulping down a ghost chili smoothie. Her sinuses filled with liquid flame. Her mouth felt like it was being deep-fried. Her eyes shed boiling tears, and every pore on her face popped. She collapsed, gagging and retching, her whole body shaking violently.**

I gasped.

"Your very brave Annabeth." Hades started. "I've seen people die because they refuse to drink it, they'd rather die."

Annabeth shrugged.  
 **  
"Annabeth!" Percy grabbed her arms and just managed to stop her from rolling into the river.**

 **The convulsions passed. She took a ragged breath and managed to sit up. She felt horribly weak and nauseous, but her next breath came more easily. The blisters on her arms were starting to fade.**

 **"It worked," she croaked. "Percy, you've got to drink."**

 **"I…" His eyes rolled up in his head, and he slumped against her.**

 ****Everyone was silent. Percy and Annabeth blinked back tears and moved a bit closer together.

 **Desperately, she cupped more fire in her palm. Ignoring the pain, she dripped the liquid into Percy's mouth. He didn't respond.**

 **She tried again, pouring a whole handful down his throat. This time he spluttered and coughed. Annabeth held him as he trembled, the magical fire coursing through his system. His fever disappeared. His boils faded. He managed to sit up and smack his lips.**

 **"Ugh," he said. "Spicy, yet disgusting."**

 **Annabeth laughed weakly. She was so relieved, she felt light-headed. "Yeah. That pretty much sums it up."**

 **"You saved us."**

"You really did." Percy smiled at her.

"Thanks." She blushed.  
 **  
"For now," she said. "The problem is, we're still in Tartarus."**

 **Percy blinked. He looked around as if just coming to terms with where they were. "Holy Hera.-"**

"Why thank you. You think I'm holy." Hera smiled in delight.

"I would be blasted out of existence if I didn't- even that's not what I meant."

" **-I never thought…well, I'm not sure what I thought. Maybe that Tartarus was empty space, a pit with no bottom. But this is a real place."**

 **Annabeth recalled the landscape she'd seen while they fell—a series of plateaus leading ever downward into the gloom.**

 **"We haven't seen all of it," she warned. "This could be just the first tiny part of the abyss, like the front steps."**

 **"The welcome mat," Percy muttered.**

 **They both gazed up at the blood-colored clouds swirling in the gray haze. No way would they have the strength to climb back up that cliff, even if they wanted to. Now there were only two choices: downriver or upriver, skirting the banks of the Phlegethon.**

"You were actually in that place," I said. "And we didn't even know."

I looked at Poseidon. He started; "We are so sorry."

Annabeth had a tear run down her cheek as she said; "Its okay. We're out and that's what matters."

 **That's it for today. I'll post soon. Have a great night.**

 **Adios blue cookie eaters.**


	7. Ahem

**Heeeeeeey, I'm going to get better with updates so look forward to that. I am so thankful for all of your support towards me and this story. Anyways let's go.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own PJO/HOO.**

 _Last time_

 _ **Now there were only two choices: downriver or upriver, skirting the banks of the Phlegethon.**_

" _You were actually in that place," I said. "And we didn't even know."_

 _I looked at Poseidon. He started; "We are so sorry."_

 _Annabeth had a tear run down her cheek as she said; "Its okay. We're out and that's what matters."_

 **Nicos POV**

"Ahem." Apollo rushed. "Now could we PLEASE get on with the story."

"Fine, fine."

" **We'll find a way out," Percy said. "The Doors of Death."**

 **Annabeth shuddered. She remembered what Percy had said just before they fell into Tartarus. He'd made Nico di Angelo promise to lead the Argo II to Epirus, to the mortal side of the Doors of Death.**

Poseidon and Hades stiffened. My dad looked at me and I gave him a small reassuring smile. Hazel grabbed my hand and squeezed.

 **We'll see you there, Percy had said.**

 **That idea seemed even crazier than drinking fire.**

"How so? I'm not crazy! I am fire! I am fabulous!- Okay i'm kind of crazy but hey, what are ya gonna do?" Leo stated an opinion we really didn't need.

 **How could the two of them wander through Tartarus and find the Doors of Death? They'd barely been able to stumble a hundred yards in this poisonous place without dying.**

"I wonder why?" Thank you- Dionysus, that was a really fantastic comment.  
 **  
"We have to," Percy said. "Not just for us. For everybody we love. The Doors have to be closed on both sides, or the monsters will just keep coming through. Gaea's forces will overrun the world."**

"That was very thoughtful of you Percy." Hestia nodded to him.

"Thanks. Anytime. Well maybe not anytime- I mean almost dying every second is quite a hard thing to- ya know.. not do." All the demigods nodded in agreement.

 **Annabeth knew he was right.**

"WISE GIRL?! You thought I was right!" Percy jumped up and started dancing around the throne room and chanting. 'Annabeth thought I was riiiiight- therefore I'm smaaaart.'

Annabeth rolled her eyes and said with a slight smile; "Yeah, yeah- don't get to carried away."

 **Still…when she tried to imagine a plan that could succeed, the logistics overwhelmed her. They had no way of locating the Doors. They didn't know how much time it would take, or even if time flowed at the same speed in Tartarus. How could they possibly synchronize a meeting with their friends? And Nico had mentioned a legion of Gaea's strongest monsters guarding the Doors on the Tartarus side. Annabeth and Percy couldn't exactly launch a frontal assault.**

"Why not?" Ares questioned and then said with a cocky smirk; "I probably could."

"Well yeah- you're a god!" Percy yelled.

"Perseus Jackson! Do not yell at a god." Sally scolded.

Ares grinned. "Heh, he got in trouble-"

"Do not start Ares!" Hera scolded him.

Percy was internally smirking.

 **She decided not to mention any of that. They both knew the odds were bad. Besides, after swimming in the River Cocytus, Annabeth had heard enough whining and moaning to last a lifetime. She promised herself never to complain again.**

 **"Well." She took a deep breath, grateful at least that her lungs didn't hurt. "If we stay close to the river, we'll have a way to heal ourselves. If we go downstream—"**

 **It happened so fast, Annabeth would have been dead if she'd been on her own.**

"If what happened so fast?!" Leo practically screamed. "Tell me! Tell me!"

"Leo! Calm down- we will find out if you quit your begging."  
 **  
Percy's eyes locked on something behind her. Annabeth spun as a massive dark shape hurtled down at her-**

Everyone (besides Ares and Dionysus) sucked in a breath.

— **a snarling, monstrous blob with spindly barbed legs and glinting eyes.**

 **She had time to think: Arachne. But she was frozen in terror, her senses smothered by the sickly sweet smell.**

 **Then she heard the familiar SHINK of Percy's ballpoint pen transforming into a sword. His blade swept over her head in a glowing bronze arc. A horrible wail echoed through the canyon.**

"Good job son." Poseidon praised Percy.  
 **  
Annabeth stood there, stunned, as yellow dust—the remains of Arachne—rained around her like tree pollen.**

Athena gagged.  
 **  
"You okay?" Percy scanned the cliffs and boulders, alert for more monsters, but nothing else appeared. The golden dust of the spider settled on the obsidian rocks.**

 **Annabeth stared at her boyfriend in amazement.**

"I like it when you call me that." Percy smiled at her.

Annabeth rested her head on Percy's shoulder saying; "I like it to."

Aphrodite awed.

 **Riptide's Celestial bronze blade glowed even brighter in the gloom of Tartarus. As it passed through the thick hot air, it made a defiant hiss like a riled snake.**

 **"She…she would've killed me," Annabeth stammered.**

 **Percy kicked the dust on the rocks, his expression grim and dissatisfied. "She died too easily, considering how much torture she put you through. She deserved worse."**

"Truer words have never been spoken." Athena looked at her daughter with sorrow and guilt.  
 **  
Annabeth couldn't argue with that, but the hard edge in Percy's voice made her unsettled. She'd never seen someone get so angry or vengeful on her behalf.**

"I ship it so hard." Piper wiped away a fake tear.

"Ahem." Hazel agreed.

 **It almost made her glad Arachne had died quickly. "How did you move so fast?"**

"It wasn't that fast." Ares murmered.  
 **  
Percy shrugged. "Gotta watch each other's backs, right? Now, you were saying…downstream?"**

 **That is it for today. Now I have a challenge for you all.**

 _ **IF I GET 5 OR MORE REVIEWS ON THIS CHAPTER I WILL FOLLOW ALL THE PEOPLE WHO REVIEW, GIVE THEM A SHOUT OUT AND POST IN THE NEXT 2 MONTHS!**_

 **Adios, blue cookie eaters.**


	8. Persassy

**Hello lovlies, I am back woo.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own PJO and/or HOO.**

 _Last time_

 ** _It almost made her glad Arachne had died quickly. "How did you move so fast?"_**

 _"It wasn't that fast." Ares murmered.  
_ _ **  
**_ ** _Percy shrugged. "Gotta watch each other's backs, right? Now, you were saying…downstream?"_**

 **Percy's POV**

 **Annabeth nodded, still in a daze. The yellow dust dissipated on the rocky shore, turning to steam. At least now they knew that monsters could be killed in Tartarus … though she had no idea how long Arachne would remain dead. Annabeth didn't plan on staying long enough to find out.**

"Good idea." Jason nodded  
 **  
'Yeah, downstream,' she managed. 'If the river comes from the upper levels of the Underworld, it should flow deeper into Tartarus –'** ****

 **'So it leads into more dangerous territory,' Percy finished. 'Which is probably where the Doors are. Lucky us.'**

"Could we just talk about how sassy I am, like come on- I am a sass master. If you don't agree with me, fight me. I am Persassy." I pointed out, trying to make light of the situation.

Ares jumped out of his throne and said hastily; "I'LL FIGHT YOU."

"No, you won't. Sit down son." Hera looked at Ares in disappointment. Ares huffed out a grunt.

"The sass and sarcasm in this story is unbearable." Frank said, and then he, ya know, he just…. TURNED INTO A BEAR. After all the laughter/disappointed sighs toned down we kept reading.

 **They'd only travelled a few hundred yards when Annabeth heard voices.** ****

 **Annabeth plodded along, half in a stupor, trying to form a plan. Since she was a daughter of Athena,-**

Athena tilted her head up, being proud of her daughter.

 **Plans were supposed to be her speciality, but it was hard to strategize with her stomach growling and her throat baking.**

"OKAY IN MY DEFENCE I WAS IN TARTUARS." Annabeth defended herself. I chuckled and kissed her on the head to which she blushed.

 **The fiery water of the Phlegethon may have healed her and given her strength, but it hadn't done anything for her hunger or thirst. The river wasn't about making you feel good, Annabeth guessed. It just kept you going so you could experience more excruciating pain.**

"Exactly." Hades grinned.  
 **  
** **Her head started to droop with exhaustion. Then she heard them – female voices having some sort of argument – and she was instantly alert.** ****

 **She whispered, 'Percy, down!'** ****

 **She pulled him behind the nearest boulder, wedging herself so close against the riverbank that her shoes almost touched the river's fire. On the other side, on the narrow path between the river and the cliffs, voices snarled, getting louder as they approached from upstream.** ****

 **Annabeth tried to steady her breathing. The voices sounded vaguely human, but that meant nothing. She assumed anything in Tartarus was their enemy. She didn't know how the monsters could have failed to spot them already.**

"Because they were terrible." I said. "they were just so terrible."

 **Besides, monsters could smell demigods – especially powerful ones like Percy, son of Poseidon. Annabeth doubted that hiding behind a boulder would do any good when the monsters caught their scent.** ****

 **Still, as the monsters got nearer, their voices didn't change in tone. Their uneven footsteps – scrap, clump, scrap, clump – didn't get any faster.** ****

 **'Soon?' one of them asked in a raspy voice, as if she'd been gargling in the Phlegethon.** ****

 **'Oh my gods!' said another voice. This one sounded much younger and much more human, like a teenaged mortal girl getting exasperated with her friends at the mall.**

"Slight chance it is a mortal teenage girl, don't ya think?" Leo stated.

 **For some reason, she sounded familiar to Annabeth. 'You guys are totally annoying! I told you, it's like three days from here.'** ****

 **Percy gripped Annabeth's wrist. He looked at her with alarm, as if he recognized the mall girl's voice too.** ****

 **There was a chorus of growling and grumbling. The creatures – maybe half a dozen, Annabeth guessed – had paused just on the other side of the boulder, but still they gave no indication that they'd caught the demigods' scent.**

"Heh, idiots." Thalia commented.

 **Annabeth wondered if demigods didn't smell the same in Tartarus, or if the other scents here were so powerful they masked a demigod's aura.** ****

 **'I wonder,' said a third voice, gravelly and ancient like the first, 'if perhaps you do not know the way, young one.'** ****

 **'Oh, shut your fang hole, Serephone,' said the mall girl. 'When's the last time you escaped to the mortal world? I was there a couple of years ago. I know the way! Besides, I understand what we're facing up there. You don't have a clue!'** ****

 **'The Earth Mother did not make you boss!' shrieked a fourth voice.** ****

 **More hissing, scuffling and feral moans – like giant alley cats fighting. At last the one called Serephone yelled, 'Enough!'** ****

 **The scuffling died down.** ****

 **'We will follow for now,' Serephone said. 'But if you do not lead us well, if we find you have lied about the summons of Gaia –'** ****

 **'I don't lie!' snapped the mall girl. 'Believe me, I've got good reason to get into this battle. I have some enemies to devour, and you'll feast on the blood of heroes. Just leave one special morsel for me – the one named Percy Jackson.'**

"HOW MANY ENEMIES DO YOU HAVE?!" Leo shouted across the room to me.

I just replied with; "I have a list, its alphabetized." 

"It makes sense." Annabeth said. "Not the Percy keeping list part but the so many enemie part."

"I keep a lot of lists!"

"Name three."

"No, because you told me too."

"Thought so."

 **Annabeth fought down a snarl of her own. She forgot about her fear. She wanted to jump over the boulder and slash the monsters to dust with her knife … except she didn't have it any more.** ****

 **'Believe me,' said the mall girl. 'Gaia has called us, and we're going to have so much fun. Before this war is over, mortals and demigods will tremble at the sound of my name – Kelli!'** ****

 **Annabeth almost yelped aloud. She glanced at Percy. Even in the red light of the Phlegethon, his face seemed waxy.** ****

 **Empousai, she mouthed. Vampires.** ****

 **Percy nodded grimly.** ****

 **She remembered Kelli.**

"STORY TIME!"

"LEO, WE ARE TRYING READ."

 **Two years ago, at Percy's freshman orientation, he and their friend Rachel Dare had been attacked by empousai disguised as cheerleaders. One of them had been Kelli. Later, the same empousa had attacked them in Daedalus's workshop. Annabeth had stabbed her in the back and sent her … here. To Tartarus.** ****

 **The creatures shuffled off, their voices getting fainter. Annabeth crept to the edge of the boulder and risked a glimpse. Sure enough, five women staggered along on mismatched legs – mechanical bronze on the left, shaggy and cloven-hooved on the right. Their hair was made of fire, their skin as white as bone. Most of them wore tattered Ancient Greek dresses, except for the one in the lead, Kelli, who wore a burnt and torn blouse with a short pleated skirt … her cheerleader's outfit.** ****

 **Annabeth gritted her teeth. She had faced a lot of bad monsters over the years, but she hated empousai more than most.** **  
**

"Why?"

 **** **In addition to their nasty claws and fangs, they had a powerful ability to manipulate the Mist. They could change shape and charmspeak, tricking mortals into letting down their guard. Men were especially susceptible. The empousa's favourite tactic was to make a guy fall in love with her, then drink his blood and devour his flesh. Not a great first date.**

"Oh yeah. That's a good reason."  
 **  
** **Kelli had almost killed Percy. She had manipulated Annabeth's oldest friend, Luke, urging him to commit darker and darker deeds in the name of Kronos.**

Hermes sighed.  
 **  
** **Annabeth really wished she still had her dagger.** ****

 **Percy rose. 'They're heading for the Doors of Death,' he murmured. 'You know what that means?'** ****

 **Annabeth didn't want to think about it, but sadly this squad of flesh-eating horror-show women might be the closest thing to good luck they were going to get in Tartarus.** ****

 **'Yeah,' she said. 'We need to follow them.'**

"YAAAAY."

 **That's it my friends. Thank you for reviewing on the last chapter. I appreciate it.**

 **Bye, blue cookie eaters.**


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